


Juno Steel and the Case of the Nameless Thief

by hopeless_eccentric



Series: (Free! That's right! Free!) Penumbra Commissions [42]
Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Aliases, Alternate Universe - Detective Conan Fusion, Detective Juno Steel - Freeform, Flirting, Getting Together, Heist, Other, Thief Peter Nureyev, ive seen like five episodes total dw this is readable if youve never heard of it, junos an adult he just looks good for his age, see what i mean not much changed, there are gonna be some references but not enough to make it unreadable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29598234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeless_eccentric/pseuds/hopeless_eccentric
Summary: Juno didn’t see why he would bother with a crammed, freezing corner of a museum that had been delegated for a ten foot block of ice encasing an emerald that frankly, didn’t seem to be worth the trouble. It wasn’t the most glamorous of jobs, but on the other hand, the billionaire had left a gloating ad in the newspaper and was almost certain to buy another if the Nameless Thief didn’t show up. By Juno’s estimation, it was about a fifty-fifty shot of him coming at all.They weren’t his favorite odds in the world, but they were loose enough that once evening crept closer and the hall began to empty, Juno allowed his eyes to wander, and subsequently, land on Peter Ransom.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Series: (Free! That's right! Free!) Penumbra Commissions [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921492
Comments: 19
Kudos: 50
Collections: RECORDING IN PROGRESS





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SarcasticSargassum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarcasticSargassum/gifts).



> hey all!! i said it in the notes and ill say it again, this is not gonna be hard to read if youve never seen the show. i ran it past a beta who hasnt seen it (frankly ive only seen like 5 episodes) and she ok'd it! also just a heads up i took some creative liberties from the canon of the show for fans of detective conan, so as a note, rather than getting badly poisoned and turning into a six year old, he gets badly poisoned and now just looks really good for 40
> 
> Content warnings for poisoning mention, alcohol mention, minor use of explosives (i.e. smoke bombs), the implication that nureyev wears a top hat

Juno’s job was fairly simple. At least it was meant to be.

He doubted his employer knew much about the business of private eyes. If anything, the guy probably hired him as a formality. A private eye was just as much of a challenge to the prospective thief as the ten foot block of ice encasing the gemstone that thief was apparently after.

He didn’t particularly want to be dragged into this case. An asshole billionaire with enough time and money to bother setting up an obstacle course for a jewel thief who may or may not even care to show up wasn’t Juno’s favorite kind of company. At the very least, Juno knew he was getting paid. There were definitely worse jobs than leaning back against the wall of a museum display room and waiting for that billionaire to get tired of taunting the Nameless Thief.

The Nameless Thief, that white tailcoat-clad gentleman who Juno was being paid to pursue, if not catch, was the kind of man who had a nearly annoying amount of fun with his line of work. Museums would advertise what expensive jewels they had on display, just for ticket sales from fans and a chance to catch him red handed. However, those carefully gloved hands never left so much as a fingerprint in the time it took for the Nameless Thief to swing in on a beam of starlight, tip his top hat, and vanish in a cloud of smoke, leaving no sign of his presence except whatever incredibly expensive item was missing.

Juno didn’t see why he would bother with a crammed, freezing corner of a museum that had been delegated for a ten foot block of ice encasing an emerald that frankly, didn’t seem to be worth the trouble. It wasn’t the most glamorous of jobs, but on the other hand, the billionaire had left a gloating ad in the newspaper and was almost certain to buy another if the Nameless Thief didn’t show up. By Juno’s estimation, it was about a fifty-fifty shot of him coming at all.

They weren’t his favorite odds in the world, but they were loose enough that once evening crept closer and the hall began to empty, Juno allowed his mind to wander.

Juno, as a rule, did not check out cops. However, the man who drew his eye as if with a magnet was a little too familiar and a little too out of place, and if Juno was remembering correctly, almost definitely wasn’t a police detective.

“Ransom,” Juno called, not missing when he jumped, tearing his gaze from the emerald and instead boring it into Juno, “long time no see.”

“It’s been an eternity in your absence, my dear detective,” Ransom chuckled, visibly smoothing his expression out as he padded over to sweep Juno’s hand into his own gloved one and press a kiss to the top of it. Juno was a little too bored and a little too tired not to indulge just how much the sensation made his stomach flip. “What could possibly bring a lovely lady such as yourself to a museum at this hour?”

“Same thing as you,” Juno snorted with a nod towards the emerald.

Ransom laughed, soft and sweet as the curling of smoke from a starlet’s lips. He took just a moment too long to part his hand from Juno’s, moving as if every inch was a deadly sin. However, he eventually steeled himself enough to lean back against the wall at Juno’s side, one long leg folded up and that piercing gaze fluctuating between Juno and the block of ice across from them. 

Juno knew damn well that Ransom was in there to steal something. All he could do was hope that something wasn’t the stupid organ fluttering beneath his sternum.

This wasn’t his first time dealing with Peter Ransom, and he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the last. The last time the two of them had crossed paths, Ransom had been one of his suspects. He had a habit of disappearing into bathrooms whenever the Nameless Thief decided to emerge and vanishing in clouds of smoke whenever the going got tough.

Juno wasn’t able to catch him. Sensibly, he could only blame himself for that. However, it was difficult not to fault that sharp, debonair smile for some of it. Even all those months later, it still found a way to make Juno’s knees go weak.

“My dear detective!” Ransom scoffed, refusing to spare Juno his breathlessness when that smile bloomed across his lips once more. Juno didn’t see why anyone would bother with shelling out a few million for a giant emerald when things like Peter Ransom’s smile came for free. “I don’t suppose you’re insinuating something.”

“You probably shouldn’t go around answering to other names, Inspector Shah,” Juno snorted.

Ransom barely glared when Juno jabbed a finger at his nametag. Rather, he took a deep breath, tore the tag off, and stuffed it away in a pocket.

“I am a rather multifaceted person, Juno,” he smiled, as if Juno had proven nothing at all. “Why shouldn’t I have all the names I please?”

“It’s been less than a year since I’ve seen you,” Juno huffed. “There’s no way you could’ve become a police detective in that time.”

“Perhaps not statistically,” Ransom mused. “Speaking of that year, Juno, I must say, you look incredibly well. While I loathe the self-proclaimed gentleman who places unwarranted comments on the health of anyone, may I inquire after your skincare routine? I was hoping—”

Juno broke him off with a laugh.

“Skincare’s one way to put it,” Juno snorted by the time he managed to catch his breath.

“Beg pardon?”

“I got poisoned,” Juno cleared his throat.

“What?”

“Yeah, some experimental bullshit that went wrong. Not much changed, but my joints hurt less, my liver doesn’t hate me anymore, and my doctor says I look thirty,” Juno shook his head. “Remind me to tell you about it some time.”

“Well, if your liver would be so inclined, I don’t see why we might not have that conversation over champagne,” Ransom smiled. “Perhaps you might even tell me the name of the gentleman who attempted to poison you. It sounds far cheaper than plastic surgery.”

“I dunno if it always takes the same amount off though, so you’ve gotta be careful. There’s no way in hell I’m getting drinks with a six year old,” Juno snorted.

“I’m hardly younger than you,” Ransom scoffed.

“Not anymore you’re not.”

Ransom laughed, not the starlit city skyline sound of before, but something far more earnest. Juno didn’t expect that it would make his heart twist in a knot, but then again, there were a lot of things about Peter Ransom he didn’t expect.

He never expected it when he smiled for real. His true smile, one he seldom seemed to show anyone, was a little crooked in the way the one he used to charm his way into crime scenes was not. On occasion, he let a terrible pun slip past his lips, laughing at it until he noted that no other person had done the same. He also had a habit of letting the sharpness in his eyes pale into something softer when he looked Juno’s way.

Juno had never expected not to care that Ransom was obviously the Nameless Thief. On paper, it made sense that he wouldn’t put too much effort in. He wasn’t being paid to specifically catch the Nameless Thief after all, for such a thing was, thus far, impossible. However, there was a bigger part of him that didn’t want to.

There were a million morals Juno could use to excuse it. He didn’t have to be a detective to know the emerald had enough blood on it to sour the smell and that the billionaire who had laid that block of ice in the first place definitely hadn’t made it any cleaner. Nevertheless, something about the way Ransom held his heart in those white gloved hands and squeezed skewed Juno’s loyalties without a shadow of a doubt.

He knew he wasn’t going to be able to stop the emerald from being stolen. He also knew that bothered him less than it should have.

“So what’s the plan, Nameless Thief?” Juno snorted once he managed to pull his head down from the clouds.

Ransom scoffed.

“I beg your pardon?”

“C’mon,” Juno shook his head, “you don’t need to play dumb. You were a security guard when the cops were explaining how the doors to this room worked, you’re dressed like some kind of officer now, and you jumped about a foot in the air when I called you your old alias. The police uniform also doesn’t have that many pockets, especially not the size and shape that could hide—I dunno—a smoke bomb or two.”

Ransom swallowed.

“Well,” he tried his best to compose himself. Juno didn’t miss the hand slinking towards his back pocket, “it seems you’ve found me out, detective.”

“No need to sound upset over it,” Juno chuckled. “I left my handcuffs at home.”

“Well, if we’re being that blatant about our intentions, why don’t you give me a quick reminder of how the security in this room works?”

Juno raised an eyebrow.

“That’s a bit forward.”

“If you’ll allow me a deduction of my own, detective, I’m nearly certain my pockets weren’t the only aspect of me you were admiring,” Ransom smiled, flashing those sharp teeth as if he knew exactly what they did to Juno. “I assure you, I’m not hiding any smoke bombs behind my lips.”

“Look—”

“Oh, I’m looking, Juno,” Ransom grinned.

“Shut up,” Juno huffed. “The doors have a panic button that shuts the whole wing off for ten minutes if you hit it. There’s no other way in or out, so it stops any criminal red handed. The room’s too cold to melt the ice and the emerald’s gonna break if you drill all the way through to it.”

“Well, that sounds like quite the predicament,” Ransom considered. “Nothing I couldn’t solve in—say, ten minutes.”

Juno barely got another look at his victorious grin before his glove slammed into the panic button and the haze of a smoke bomb filled the room.

Ten minutes was a hell of a lot of time to choke on a smoke bomb. Thankfully, Ransom only took five.

By the time the air cleared, Juno managed to rip the override button from one of the pockets of his coat and press it for long enough for the doors to wheeze open and let out some of the excess smoke. When he finished blinking the last of it from his burning eye and wiping his vision clear, Ransom was long gone, but not without leaving a hell of a mystery behind.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Juno breathed, shaking his head at the sight of a black sheet covering the towering block of ice.

Juno didn’t have to guess where it came from. A swinging ceiling tile from up above and the string hanging down from it seemed to have released some kind of sheet to soak up the ink from the blast while Ransom went about his business underneath. He was frankly too curious to have any reservations about tearing the sheet aside to see what damage had been done in the five minutes of Ransom’s disappearance.

The first thing Juno noticed was the note, signed with the same symbol as all of the other messages left behind by the Nameless Thief when he wasn’t around to give the authorities a wink and a smile and a tip of his hat.

“To the master thief, doors are but suggestions,” the note started. “It has truly been a pleasure doing business with you once more, my dear detective. If you wish to see me again, Hyperion City has many rooftops. Perhaps this one might make a better meeting place for the two of us. Nine-thirty, if you don’t mind. I’ll need several hours to dispose of the jewel.”

The second thing he noticed was the emerald in the block of ice.

More specifically, the emeralds.

Where once a single emerald had lain, the glass was littered with what, on first glance, appeared to be numerous jewels. However, the closer Juno got to the ice, the more the full picture came into view. They shot off from a single drill mark through the ice, having been carved with dye to create the appearance of other gemstones.

If Juno had underestimated the Nameless Thief, he would have said it was for the sake of gloating, or perhaps to throw the detectives off his track. However, Juno knew damn well that the true emerald hadn’t been touched. It looked like Ransom had taken his advice against drilling after all. He had merely fabricated the illusion of a crime.

Juno wasn’t getting paid to explain the situation to the slack-jawed security guards who came rushing through the doors the moment they opened. Nevertheless, he had a reputation to uphold.

“Good luck going after the Nameless Thief,” Juno snorted, gesturing to a missing floorboard. “Apparently there was another exit, you just had to get a bit more creative.”

One of the guards seemed to catch her breath enough to shake her head at the monolith of ice, dotted with the five or so different carved gemstones.

“And what about those?”

“Carved,” Juno returned. 

“Why?”

“Just gloating, if I had to guess,” Juno lied through his teeth. “There’s that giant drilling hole in the middle, so I’d bet he took the real one and left the rest just to throw us off.”

Juno pocketed the note before any more questions could be asked. The fact of the matter was that it was just a number of hours until the museum closed and the exhibit was left to melt, giving Ransom exactly the window he needed to make off with the emerald the moment it surfaced, no pyrotechnics or drilling required.

A couple years ago, he would probably be a lot more objectionable to the idea of just letting a master thief get away with whatever heist he wanted. The problem was that he liked Peter Ransom. It didn’t matter that he was a master criminal or that the two of them were meant to be enemies. At the end of the day, Ransom stole the right things from the right people, and more importantly, he made Juno’s head a little fuzzier than anyone had a right to.

Juno checked his watch before turning on his heel and heading out the automatic doors. He didn’t have the energy to deal with his employer, and he certainly didn’t want to waste any time. After all, he had someone to meet that evening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEEHAW THIS ONE IS SO SOFT GUYS
> 
> Content warnings for alcohol and alcohol consumption

Juno’s employer didn’t need to know that he had made his way onto the museum’s rooftop that night, twelve minutes earlier than the note in his breast pocket told him to be. His employer also didn’t need to know that he had timed his arrival perfectly, knowing damn well Ransom would be making his nighttime return to the museum in order to take the emerald for himself once the ice block had melted fully.

Juno’s employer also didn’t need to know that the pursuit of the Nameless Thief took a far different form than what was intended. It was less the kind of pursuit that justified having handcuffs in one’s back pocket and more the kind of pursuit that left Juno tearing through his closet for a half hour while having his head talked back onto his shoulders by his secretary over the comms. He’d known Rita for long enough to know her taste in semi-formal sweaters wasn’t going to do anything to help with his actual predicament, but her presence was calming nonetheless.

He didn’t have to be a detective to know how Ransom, or rather, the Nameless Thief, would make his appearance. 

Juno didn’t doubt half the reason for the Nameless Thief’s popularity had something to do with the costume. While the magic tricks and the daring heists and that smug, debonair grin certainly had their effect, the Nameless Thief also happened to be completely, utterly, and incurably handsome.

When he wasn’t in any number of disguises, he was clad in a spotless white suit with the kind of mannerisms that would make most ladies swoon. Juno wasn’t particularly the swooning type, but he had to admit that there were few men in this world that could pull off spats and a top hat. Anyone else would’ve looked ridiculous, but then again, Juno had never met another criminal who had decided to make magicianship the general theme of their getaways.

When Ransom finally did appear, Juno half expected him to do so in a cloud of smoke, as if he had teleported to the rooftop, rather than walked.

“My dear detective,” he greeted from the fire escape stairs with a wave and a smile that made every pinprick star of the blooming night sky overhead seem to dim in respect of something far more beautiful than themselves, “how lovely is it to see you again, and so soon after our last meeting.”

“Stairs, huh?” Juno scoffed, trying his best to keep his heart rate down when Ransom leapt up to the rooftop with a swish of that stupid cape he always pretended to hate just because a tiny part of him was terrified it would get stuck in something someday. “Little bit of a downgrade for the Nameless Thief. I expected you to swing in on a beam of goddamn starlight.”

“No starlight was available, I’m afraid,” Ransom chuckled, his voice as light and sweet as the padding of his feet across the rooftop as he walked Juno’s way, “I had to take the train.”

“Dressed like that?”

“I have a reputation to uphold.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Of course I am,” Ransom shook his head and paused once he had found a railing to lean back on, if just to fold one long leg over the other and smile, knowing damn well that Juno’s eye was busy tracing every line of him. “I couldn’t have that employer of yours thinking just any security guard stole that gemstone. While it is regrettable that it was a less than visible heist, I suppose the security camera footage of me will have to do.”

“And a note at the scene of the crime, I’m guessing,” Juno snorted.

“What kind of half rate cutpurse do you take me for?” Ransom grinned. “Of course I left a note. Speaking of the matter, I assume you got that little card I left for you.”

“Nah, I just like to sit around on roofs waiting around for criminals who might want to throw me off of them.”

Ransom scoffed.

“Juno, if there’s a criminal who wants to do you any harm showing up at this time and place, you must give me his name immediately, and I assure you, he will be dealt with.”

Juno rolled his eye.

“You know what I mean.”

“I most assuredly do not,” Ransom returned, an eyebrow raised under the brim of his hat. “Detective, you don’t possibly mean that you see me as a threat.”

“Look,” Juno huffed. “Usually when I get a letter from someone on the other side of the law giving me a time and place, it’s more of a pistols at dawn type of thing.”

“My sincerest apologies for any confusion, detective. I merely wanted your company alone and far from the context of our daily lives. I would have worn something a little more presentable if I hadn’t just come from work,” Ransom smiled.

“Presentable? You’re in a goddamn tailcoat,” Juno snorted.

“I hardly enjoy going about my life looking like a mediocre magician,” Ransom chuckled.

“Hey, if it helps you feel better about anything, you look nice in it.”

Ransom raised an eyebrow. Juno immediately regretted his choice in words, for it had given Ransom another excuse to flash him that sharp-toothed grin, looking all the lovelier when reflected in shades of faint orange and purple as the sun set over Hyperion City and the nighttime began to poke its head over the corner of the horizon.

“Nice?” He grinned.

“Shut up.”

“My dear detective, I never meant to embarrass you—”

“I said shut up,” Juno pressed, though he was unable to do so without a laugh. “God, it’s probably for the best that you never get arrested. I don’t know how any of the prison guards would ever be able to stand you.”

“Was that a compliment?”

“Just a deduction,” Juno rolled his eye.

“I’m not sure whether or not to be offended,” Ransom chuckled, leaning forward from the railing.

Juno tried not to jump at the shift in balance so close to the ledge, but wasn’t entirely able to manage a facade of calm. Ransom raised an eyebrow.

“Juno, dear, are you alright?”

“Quit scaring me like that,” he huffed.

“Like what?”

“Just—” Juno broke off to groan. “I hate heights. I don’t want my next job to be Peter Ransom and the case of why I had to peel him off the sidewalk with a spatula, okay?”

“Whatever makes you the most comfortable, my dear detective,” Ransom nodded, stepping away from the ledge altogether.

As much as that calmed Juno’s pulse, it didn’t have a net positive result on the state of that dumb organ between his ribs, given that Ransom decided that the next best option was to lean against the wall at Juno’s side and offer him a smile in apology.

“Juno,” he began, something soft blooming in his eyes that was making it terribly difficult to think, “I want you to know that I did not call this meeting just to do you harm. I had something of greater importance to discuss with you.”

“Yeah?”

Ransom cleared his throat, reaching into the depths of his cloak and pulling out a lump of tissue paper, which he pressed into Juno’s hands before he could register much more than the size and shape of it.

“I think we’re both aware of the lengths many men have gone to in order to get their hands on the emerald I stole today,” Ransom started, “so I decided I would break that cycle. I sold it off to a friend of mine under the condition that they break it down into far smaller pieces. As proof, I asked that one be set in a piece of jewelry and given back to me.”

“Well, looks like they did a pretty nice job with that,” Juno considered as he unfolded the tissue paper, revealing a necklace he had to admit wasn’t too bad to look at. It was jewelry the way he liked it. The color was surprisingly versatile, while the chain wasn’t too much of a distraction from the actual piece. It was light and simple, the kind of thing that would match more than one piece from his closet. “Why are you handing it to me?”

Ransom, for the first time Juno had ever seen, blushed.

“Green isn’t my color,” he choked. “Treat it as a gift for the favor you did me today.”

“You would’ve gotten away with it either way.”

“With you pursuing me, I doubt it,” Ransom answered earnestly, his gaze as soft and sweet as the gentle evening breeze, carrying the smell of flowers from the window box of a nearby apartment. “It’s a gift, my dear detective.”

“Uh—” Juno swallowed his own tells of excitement. “Thanks, Ransom.”

“Peter Nureyev,” the thief blurted out, seemingly before he could stop himself. “If you’ve agreed to this rendezvous of ours, and you might, perhaps, agree to another one, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be using my real name.”

“Peter Nureyev, huh?” Juno tried, if just to feel the name on his tongue. Nureyev seemed to appreciate it, for he smiled, something soft blooming in his eyes. Juno didn’t know exactly what it meant, but it seemed as if that sweet little something had taken a seat and patted the ground at its side, beckoning for Juno to come closer. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Peter Nureyev.”

Juno wasn’t sure when he had taken Nureyev by the hand, just that Nureyev had given it a warm little squeeze. Something in his chest copied the sensation.

“Why are you telling me this?” Juno finally spoke again. “I mean, all this is basically priceless. I don’t have anything to give back.”

Nureyev broke his hand away to sweep his hat from his head and tuck it under his arm.

“Of course you have something of equal value to give. You did promise me something earlier, you know,” Nureyev smiled.

Juno blinked.

“I did?”

Juno knew Nureyev could fit just about anything under his cloak. However, he wasn’t exactly expecting a bottle of champagne and a pair of two glasses to emerge, just in time to be greeted by a teasing grin from Nureyev.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“No kidding in the slightest, detective,” Nureyev chuckled. “I merely request a few hours and a drink with you, if that’s to your taste.”

“Tell me that’s not expensive,” Juno groaned.

“Juno, I stole you a priceless gemstone, and you’re worried if the alcohol’s expensive?”

“I dunno,” Juno huffed. “Feels like common courtesy.”

“Detective, have I ever told you just how much I enjoy your company?” Nureyev laughed.

“I dunno, we haven’t really had that much of it,” Juno shrugged.

He paused a moment for Nureyev to pour both of them a glass before tucking the bottle back into his cloak. Juno still had no idea how it fit, but he decided some mysteries were best not pursued.

“To a new alliance,” Nureyev beamed once he had a moment to raise his glass.

“I’ll drink to that,” Juno snorted, tipping their glasses together and pausing for a sip.

It was definitely expensive, but he decided it was best not to say anything. With Peter Nureyev smiling at him over two glasses brimming with new possibilities, it was difficult to complain. The early evening hour reflected in a swirling purple over the surface of the liquid, blurring into shades of wistfulness and the kind of hope Juno hardly ever let himself indulge.

“This alliance—” Nureyev started after a sip from his own glass, his smile melting away, “Is that what you would hope to call it?”

“Not sure what you’re getting at.”

“Perhaps I might take you out to dinner sometime,” Nureyev pressed. “Not as the Nameless Thief, but as Peter Nureyev. I am being wholly earnest when I mean I want to get to know you better. I’m seldom a man with allies, Juno, but perhaps it wouldn’t be too terrible to have someone a bit closer.”

“You mean like a date?”

“Well, detective, if that’s not how you classify drinking champagne and watching the sunset, perhaps we have different definitions of the word,” Nureyev tried his best to laugh, though Juno had studied his case files for long enough to know this was just another disguise, for a disguise could always take one’s falls when reality was too painful to bear.

“There’s a place a couple blocks north of here with some of the best cricket pad thai I’ve ever had,” Juno smiled, not missing the way Nureyev’s relieved sigh caught in his throat. “How do you feel about six on Friday?”

“Six on Friday,” Nureyev breathed, as if there were no more romantic phrase in the world. “Juno, I would be delighted, though I’m afraid you might want to know my personal comms number first.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got—”

Juno’s words broke off at the sight of Nureyev already pulling three different colors of pens from the inside of his cape.

“What?” Nureyev demanded with a chuckle once Juno eventually broke and started laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the gentleman thief vying for his affection by presenting the various items he had picked up and magpied away into his ostentatious cloak.

“Never change,” Juno shook his head. “I’ll take the green one.”

“To match your new necklace, I hope,” Nureyev mused, leaning over to jot the number down the top of Juno’s wrist. Juno did his best to pretend the touch hadn’t made his heart skip a beat.

“I’ll wear it, I’ve just gotta find something to match first,” Juno smiled, reminding himself to tuck the necklace away into his breast pocket before he could forget it. “What color do you want?”

“It’s truly of no matter—”

Juno waved him off to select the red pen and pull back his glove.

“There you go,” he mumbled as he finished the number. However, rather than removing the glove, he held the fabric back, fanning Nureyev’s wrist with his other hand to help the ink dry.

“You really don’t need to go to such pains, detective,” Nureyev chuckled. “The gloves are machine washable.”

“Shut up. Maybe I just really wanna hold your hand,” Juno joked.

“I should hope so.”

“Speaking of which, when did I put down my glass?”

Nureyev winced, producing it from his cloak with his free hand, still, impossibly, entirely unspilled.

“Forgive a thief for thieving, dear, I was just concerned you wouldn’t want to set it down somewhere so unfurnished.”

“Just take your goddamn pen back so I can drink and hold your hand at the same time,” Juno snorted.

Nureyev was all too happy to oblige, his gloved fingers giving Juno’s a squeeze once he had finished doing away with the pens.

“Is my presence that much of a burden?” He pretended to complain while Juno did his best to control his huff until he was done with his sip.

“Nah,” Juno shook his head, “if I’m being honest, it’s not half bad.”

There was a certain relief in knowing the Nameless Thief was the kind of gentleman who kept too much in his pockets and fumbled around his crushes and accidentally pickpocketed his dates out of sheer habit. As much as Juno had wanted to think him a trickster god in the form of a man, he wasn’t sure he could find much to like about a trickster god. The concept was a little too distant for him to grasp, in the way he could admire a painting and never fall in love with it.

Peter Nureyev, on the other hand, was distinctly human. There was flesh and blood and bone beneath his gloves, and somewhere underneath it all, a heart that was beating just a little too fast. His gaze got lost whenever he tried to glance Juno’s way. Seemingly, the sunset wasn’t beautiful enough to hold his attention. Juno didn’t want to think about what that implied about his own appearance, but he took the compliment nonetheless.

Peter Nureyev was the kind of man who paired well with champagne and sunsets and the cool, distant city breeze that smelled, for just a moment, of the kind of sweet and restful world Juno could almost believe in on a good day.

Juno finished his glass and squeezed Nureyev’s hand. Nureyev squeezed right back.

There were probably worse things than spending his time with a criminal. Besides, he could make an excuse for this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELL YEAH!! anyway stream detective conan
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!! Make sure to SMASH that kudos button and leave a comment down below or ill hit your with the deageification beam or whatever happened i actually habent watched the first episode yet
> 
> Check me out on tumblr @hopeless-eccentric or on twitter @withane22 !!

**Author's Note:**

> yeehaw!! hope you all enjoyed this one, it was fun as hell to write!! anyway detective conan is just a straight shot of serotonin ive had so much fun researching this one
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading!! make sure to SMASH that kudos button and leave a comment down below or ill undetective your conan
> 
> Check me out on tumblr @hopeless-eccentric or on twitter @withane22 !!


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